Cabinet having interconnected doors



March 29, 1949. A. N. SMITH 2,455,555

CABINET HAVING INTERCONNECTED'DOORS Filed June 21, 1946 Patented Mar. 29, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CABINET HAVING INTERCQNNECTED DOORS 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to cabinets and more particularly to cabinets of the type having a mechanism for automatically opening up one of its doors as the other of its doors is opened.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cabinet of a type where the doors are adapted to contain shelving, and such as can be moved outwardly to expose the contents on the shelving of one door at the same time as the contents on the shelving on the other door is exposed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide in a cabinet having a large or full width door, auxiliary narrow inner door and mechanism for automatically opening up the inner door as the outer door is opened.

It is still another object of the invention to provide in an automatic mechanism for a cabinet in which the inner door is opened when the full width door is opened and some means of adjustment such that the amount of opening movement of the inner door can be regulated.

According to the present invention, the cabinet takes the form of a casing wherein there may be one full width outer door which may have shelving thereon adapted to be swung out of the casing with the door. At the opposite side of the casing and extending only half way across the casing there is hinged another door also havin shelving thereon. The shelving of both doors extends for only one half width so that there is no interference of the shelving as the doors are closed.

Connected between the two doors is a mechanism whereby as the outer door is opened the inner door is likewise opened whereby the shelving on both of the doors is readily made easily accessible and brought out of the cabinet casing. In order to control the amount of opening of the inner door there is provided adjustment means in the connection of the link with the door.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure- Fig. l is a perspective View of the cabinet with the doors open looking into the interior of the cabinet casing.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken through the bottom of the casing looking upon the automatic mechanism connected between the doors for effecting the automatic opening of the inner door as the outer door is opened.

Fig. 3 is a similar cross sectional view but with the doors in their open position showing a slightly modified mechanism between the doors which includes an adjustment in the mechanism for regulating the extent of opening of the inner door to a given open position of the main outer door.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional View, in elevation, as viewed along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the figures, l2 represents a medicine cabinet or the like having a main casing it and a main door 14 adapted to swing on hinges l5 across the full width of the opening of the casing I3. Similarly hinged by hinges iii to the opposite side of the cabinet casing I3 is an inner or auxiliary door ll which extends only half way across the opening and upon being swung in is covered by the wide or main door l4. Both of these doors have shelves l8 and is. spaced vertically from one another and arranged adjacent the edges of the casing. These shelves swing inwardly into the casing l3 and are confined therein with their contents when the doors are closed. When the doors are opened the contents and the shelves are brought outwardly and near the user. At no time will the shelves of the respective doors interfere with one another. Since the shelves respectively extend only one half the width of the casing there is no possible chance for the same to strike one another while the doors are being operated.

At the bottom of the casing l3 there is a compartment 2! of small height and formed by a partition wall 22 and the bottom wall 23 of the casing 13. Within this compartment 2!, there is confined a linkage mechanism 24 which is connected at opposite ends between the two doors. This mechanism 24 comprises a lever 25 pivoted at its mid-point 26 to the bottom wall 23 to pivot about a vertical axis. To the opposite ends of the lever 25 there are connected respectively links 2'! and 28. The other end of the link 21 is connected to a bracket 29 at the bottom of the main door 84. The other end of the link 28 is connected to a bracket 3| on the bottom of the inner door l1.

As the outer door is pulled open the link 21 is pulled to pivot lever 25 about its pivot and place a thrust upon link 28 to effect a conjoint opening action upon the inner door 11. Thus upon opening the main door not only are the contents of the shelves !8 thereon automatically brought forward but also are the contents upon the shelves iii of the auxiliary door i! brought forward As the main door is closed the inner door operated by the linkage will be hinged inwardly ahead of the main door so that the main door overlaps the same in the finally closed position.

As shown in Fig. 3, there is provided on the auxiliary door 11 'arbracket 33 having a plurality of holes "314 in any one of which a downwardly bent end of link 28 may be positioned whereby to alter the extent of opening movement of the auxiliary door l7. This providesfor-anadjustment in the linkage mechanism. If the rod 28 is located in a hole 34- near to thehinge themaximum opening of the inner door l! is efiected. If the rod is located in the hole most remote from the hinge, minimum opening of the innerdoor- I1 is effected.

If it is desired to use the cabinet of the present construction f'oriany'type "of cabinet not requiring a full door across "the front opening "it would merely be necessary *todecrease by half the width of'the main door shown. "Thus there Would be provided a double do'or construction having the same featu'resand advanta'g'esas the cabinet illustrated "and S'h'OWIl.

While'I have illustrated and described'the preferred embodiments of my inventiornit is to be understood that I do notrlimitlmyself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes an'dm'odi'fications coming withinthe scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described-my invention, What I claim-as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

Inla cabinet having a casing including a bottom wall and an open front closed by a main door pivotally mounted at one side of the open front for extension completely across the open front and an inner door pivotally mounted at the other side of the open front and of a width to extend across one-half of the open front within the main door, means for causing the inner door to be pivoted to an open position when the main door is pivote'd to an open position, comprisin a lever pivotally mounted intermediate of its ends on -.the inner face of the bottom Wall of the casing between the sides thereof, brackets securely mounted on the inner faces of the doors adja- 'cent their pivoted edges, a link having its ends :pivotally attached to one end of said lever and said bracket on the inner face of the main door, and a second link having its ends pivotally attached to the other end of said lever and said bracket on the inner face of the inner door, said bracket of the inner door being formed witharow of' holes and'th'e adia'centiend of said se'condlink having a downturned end selectively 'engageable with the holes of saidbra'cket of the inner door to vary the distancethe inner door will be opened when the main door is "opened.

SMITH.

CITED The following references are of recordtin the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 57 7 ,346 lBiorkman flan- Feb "16, [189? 655,562 Messinger r Au;g.57,;1900 846,848 I-IerzogiwMar. I2, 1907 1,570,641 Perkins. y Jan. 26,1926 1,598,715 Gray .Sept.'7-, 192'6 

